We had the good fortune of connecting with Nikki Norenberg and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Nikki, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
Balance is such an interesting thing to reflect on because it is always changing and being redefined. When I worked in the corporate world, balance looked like filling up every spare minute out of the office with things that brought me joy. In doing so, it quickly allowed me to realize in contrast, how unhappy the corporate world made me and I was constantly yearning for more out-of-work time and activity. I remember thinking to myself “I just want to experience and explore more life than I am able to right now. This does not feel balanced, it feels trapped”. I knew that balance to me was not meant to be defined as ‘survive the day & enjoy nights and weekends’. I knew that balance was meant to be interweaved within every single waking day, with some Wednesdays feeling like Saturdays, and most days including work, play, self-care & exploration. As an entrepreneur, balance is a necessity. When your work is your passion, it is easy to work all of the time, because it doesn’t necessarily feel like work. Especially if you are a solopreneur (like me) and you are a one-person show, all of the operations within your business fall into your lap. But if the balance of taking care of yourself, playing & exploring is forfeited, your business & happiness will be negatively effected. The most honest way for me to check in with how balanced my work & life is, is through my happiness & stress levels. When I am able to give myself time to BE and not DO, I produce better work and my emotional state is more positively consistent. Everything in my life benefits from me committing to a more balanced lifestyle! As human beings we are meant to experience life, so I try to never lose sight of that.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
As a self-discovery coach, on the surface, I connect people to their purpose and help them discover what they are really meant to do with their lives. But on a deeper level, my job is to connect people to the hidden jewels of their soul, that they haven’t connected with in awhile (or ever) & help them to operate from the highest version of themselves. It really is all about stripping away the external world, the expectations and the social norms and getting one to understand their authenticity, confidence and truest self. Not an easy task – but the most important one of all! My coaching methodology was birthed out of the most transformational time of my life when I had lost my identity and direction and committed to the deep work it took to find my way again. I knew that with the tools I had used and discovered, I could provide the same level of clarity to others experiencing the same thing. Finally, I started showing people this method and how they too could connect, clarify and take action on the life that they wanted. I am extremely proud that my own personal journey has helped so many other people’s journeys along the way. The amount of mindset breakthroughs, career shifts, boundaries set, confidence increased, up-leveled happiness and manifestation success is countless. I am proud & excited to witness this every day and trust that we are together contributing to the world becoming a better place. There is, of course, magic created in the work that I do but there is also a lot of challenge. The coaching industry is very saturated and sticking out amongst the crowd can be a heavy feat. However, I trust that the people who are meant to work with me find me. Showing up authentic, human and real is very important to me and I call in people who are craving just that. I personally try not to follow any classic social media or influencer strategy because that doesn’t feel ME. I’ve tried it all, and what feels best is simply showing up as I am, when it feels right. And since the work I do is entirely a reflection of who I am, it needs to all come from the most real me there is. With every person I work with, I am constantly thinking of new ways to help them. The beautiful thing about owning your own business is that it is ever-changing – with the world, with your clients, and with your own personal growth. I truly feel like this is just the beginning of what I am meant to do and am beyond excited to see what’s in store in the years to come!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
This is a tough one! Every LA neighborhood is so different and I love them all for such different reasons. But if I were to pick an actual itinerary, this is what I would do… Optional itinerary: Hike Temescal Canyon in Pacific Palisades Get a smoothie from Sunlife Organics (the Mystic is incredible!) Head to Malibu to jump in the water for a quick swim at the beach Have lunch at Malibu Café on the pier Stop at Rosenthal Winery for a quick wine tasting Continue the wine tour up to Malibu Wines for a dinner picnic and live music Head back to the beach to watch the sunset When I have people visiting, I always like to give them a flavor of the beach life and also show them inside of the canyons and mountains. I enjoy being active but also indulging in some good wine & food as well!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would have to say that I listened to a lot of interviews on the Almost30 Podcast back when I was transitioning from the corporate world to entrepreneurship, and that really helped me form my own beliefs on the importance of work/life balance. Hearing all of the strong & successful women who run businesses, have families, take vacations, and still have time to take care of themselves, really expanded my belief in being able to accomplish all of that myself! It is so important to look to others who have things that you want and really allow yourself to believe that you can have it too!

Website: www.nikkinorenberg.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nikki.norenberg/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikkinorenberg/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Nikki-Norenberg-150535365620029

Image Credits
Michaela Todaro Katie Morton

Nominate someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.